Growth is likely to accelerate throughout the South Asia region and Bangladesh in 2003, up to an average of 5.4 per cent, assuming a return to trend foragricultural production, a recovery in external demand, continued improvement in political stability and regional security, according to a new report of the World Bank.
The report, titled "Global Economic Prospects 2004: Realising the Promise of the Doha Agenda", was formally launched in New Delhi yesterday (3 September.
At the launching ceremony, Aaditya Mattoo, lead economist and Dominique Van Der Mensbrugghe, senior economist based at the World Bank office in New Delhi presented the main findings of the report.
The 299-page report says that growth for South Asia has declined to 4.2 per cent in 2002 from 4.9 per cent in 2001, marking a downward revision from previous estimates, largely because of adverse weather conditions and declines in agricultural output in India, Bangladesh, and Nepal.
